Drain trap



w. R. GlLLiEs DRAIN -TRAP Filed Auk. 6, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W M w35@ Patented July Z2, 1924.

UNITED STATES; PATENT QFFICE,

WILLIAM R. GILLIES, OF CHICAGO", ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE EQUIPMENT SPCIAL- rrns COMPANY, oF GHEQAGO,

ILLINOIS, A COB/POETION OF ILLINOIS.

DRAIN TRAP,

Application filed August 45,y 1923Y Serial No', 655,922.

`To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be Ait known that I, VILLIAM R. GILLrEs,

a citizen of the United States, and resident or Chicago',` in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certainy `new and useful Improvement in Drain TrapsA of which the following- `is a full,l clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relatestol a drain trap which is particularly suitablev for installation upon railway refrigerator cars. Generally stated, it is the objectot'iny invention to provide a device of this class which is oiisturdy construction and largely of sheet metal, which may be economically' manufactured and readily installed, and whichc'oniprises 1mproved devices for cleaning the trap whenever occasion requires'.

One of the salient featuresy of my invention resides in the provision of an. improved agitator which isi capable of kboth reciproeating and rotary 'inotionf,y it being capable of reciprocating moti-on to lift the `cap of the drain pipey of the trap, and being capable of rotary motion to agitate and displace the dirt, sawdust, and other *solidl 'or semi-solid' matter which collects in the trap 30 bowl.

Other' features, objects and advantages'of my invention will appear' from the following detailed description, wherein reference is made to the accompanying. drawings, in

. which y c Figure 1 is a fragmentaryy top' plan. yview of a drain trap constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a 'view similar to Figure 2, but illustrating a modified embodimenty of my invention; and

Figure 4 illustrates a further modification of the saine.

Similar characters of' reference referto similar parts 'throughout the' severalr views.

Referring' iirst to Figures l and 2, at 10 l have illustrated the floor of a'refrigerator car and at 11 ajmetal drain pan of the kind commonly employed in the bulkheads of such cars. The car construction so far as illustrated. inthe drawings is' conventional, and need not `be described iny detail. The drain pan is provided with a circular opening 18 which registers with the open upper end of the drain trap bowl 14., which eX- tends through an opening in the car floor and conveniently occupies a position between a contiguous pair of the timbers which support the car lloorl.

The drain trap boWl 14 is' formed in one piece from sheet metal, and is provided. at its upper edge with an outwardly projecting marginal flange 15 which is attached tothe drain pan ll1. As here illustrated, the llange 15 lies under the metal bordering the drain pan opening 13, and is secured to the rdrain pan` by bolts 16. However, the flange-15 may be` soldered as wellpas riveted to theV drain pan or the bolts' and solderv may be dispensed with and the ill-ange may be securedl to the drain pan in any other'suitable manner, as for instance by welding.

It will be noted that the metal constituting the bottoni of the bowl 14k is perforated and pressed upwardly to provide an upwardly projecting'aninular flange or hollow `boss 17, Pressed very tightly into the ilange 17 and having. a liquid tight lit therewith, is a pipe 18, 'the upper end of which is located a substantial distance above the bottoni of the bowl; the lower end of the said pipe being. located a substantial distance below the bottom of the bowl. `The upper end of the pipe 18 is lpreferably cut oli in: a planel obliquey thek axis of the pipe, asv illustrated.

Disposed within lthe pipe 18 and preferably rigidly secured thereto by any suitable Vmeans, as for instance rivets 19, is a second pipe of smaller diameter indicatedy at 20, which 4constitutes a yguide for the combined agitator and Lcap lifter presently to be described. It will be noted.v that the upper end of the smaller pipe 20 lies a substantial. 'distance above the lowerrno'st portion of the upper edge of thelarger lpipe 18; henoe,the level or' liquid "in the trap'A bowlI lll willi not rise 'tof a-point where ysaid vliquid will enter the smaller' pipe 20, Y Loosely disposed in the ysmaller pipe 20' 'isA ak f combined 'agitator and cap' lifter which is in the form ola metal rod 21 provided with-an oft'set lower end 22 which serves as a' handle 'for manipulating the device 21 for the purpose of lift ing the drain pipe cap and for agitating the contents" ofl the drain trap bowl in the manner presently to be explained. The upper end of the rod 21 is turned laterally over the edges ofthe pipes 18 and 20, and is then turned downwardly and then again outwardly and upwardly to provide the portion 23 which serves as an agitator arm.

At 24 I have illustrated a cap for the drain pipe 18, this cap being formed in one piece from sheet metal, and consisting of a circular top wall and a downwardly flaring side wall, the lower edge of the latter normally lying in a plane a substantial distance below the lowermost portiono'l the upper end of the drain pipe 18. The cap 24 is hingedly secured to the drain trap bowl 14 by co-operating hinge members 25 and 26, which are respectively secured to the cap 24 and t-he bowl 14 in any suitable manner, as for instance vby rivets 26', the said hinge members 25 and 26 being provided with the usual loo-ps for receiving a hinge pin, which in the present instance is in the form ot a cotter pin 27. It will be noted that the cotter pin is so located that it is readily accessible from the inside of the car.

The hinge devices hereinbei'ore described and the device 21 normally hold the drain pipe 24 in the position illustrated in full lines in Figure 2.

In the use of the drain trap, sawdust, dirt, and other solid and semi-solid matter collects in the bowl 14 and tends to prevent the free escapeof water therefrom. This obstructing matter which thus gathers in the drain trap bowl must frequently be removed. The combined agitator and cap litter 21 hereinbefore mentioned constitutes an extremely eective means whereby a workman may clean out the drain trap without entering the car. In order to clean the trap, the workman grasps the handle portion 22 of the device 21, moves the latter to the dotted line position illustrated in Figure 2. When the device 21 is so raised the drain pipe cap 24 is swung to the dotted line position shown in the same iigure. This movement of the drain pipe cap serves in a measure to disturb and agitate the solid and semisolid contents of the drain trap bowl and also exposes the upper end of the drain pipe to such an extent that the obstructing material may readily escape through the drain pipe. Further agitation of the solid and semi-solid material which accumulates in the drain trap bowl may be accomplished by turning the device y21 around a vertical axis, the arm 23 being capable of movement through a substantial arc in close proximity to the bottom and side walls of the drain trap bowl, and serving eectively to dislodge any obstructing material which may not befdislodged by the simple operation of lifting the drain pipe cap.

' i In some instances it may be desirable to imbed the drain ltrap bowl and the upper portion of the drain pipe 18 in heat insulatthrough which the combined agitator and v cap lifter extends is disposed alongside of, and not within, the drain pipe 18. In this embodiment or my invention, the pipe 19 extends through and is fitted in the bottom of the drain trap bowl 14 similarly to the pipe 18, the upper end of the pipe 19 being located a substantial distance above the to-p of the dra-in pipe 18. In this embodiment of my invention, the parallel pipes 18 and 19 are Apreferably so disposed that a hori- Zontal line-passing through their axes extends longitudinally of the car.

It is frequently desirable to provide the drain pipe traps of the kind herein illus- `trated -with hingedly r`mounted inclined lower ends or chutes which insure that the liquid, often salty, which escapes from the drain trap, shall not come into contact with a journal bearing located in proximity to the lower end of the drain pipe. A suitable device for `directing the escaping liquid outwardly from the lower end of the drain pipe 18 ris illustrated at 29 in Figure 3. The

device 29 need not be described in detail, as'V devices of this general character are now well-known in the artto which my invention relates.

The embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figure 4 isr particularly advantageousbecause it dispenses with any necessity :Eor a device or the kind illustrated at 29 in Figure 3. In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figure 4, the drain pipe 18 is disposed at an angle to the bottom of the drain trap bowl, the water escaping from vthe lower end of the. drain pipe being permitted to drop outside of the journal box associated with the car wheel illustrated at 30. In allother respects the structure illustrated in Figure 4 may be substantially identical ywith the structure illustrated in Figures 1 andc2. I

In all of the herein rillustrated embodiments of my invention, the device 21 serves both to lift its associated drain pipe cap and to agitate the solid and semi-solid material which collects in and obstructs its associated drain trap bowl.

Having thus illustrated and described a number of preferred embodiments of my invention, I do not limit myself to the'precise arrangement and construction of parts herein shown and described, but wish to cover all equivalent embodiments of the invention as the same is ldeiined by the appended claims.v n. l

a hingedly mounted drainv pipe cap and a combined agitator and lifter extendingthrough said drain pipe, said combined agitator and lifter being capable of longitudinal movement to lift said cap and being capable of rotary movement to agitate solid and semisolid matter accumulated in said bowl.

2. Ina drain trap, a bowl, a drain pipe extending through the bottom of said bowl and terminating a substantial distance above the bottom of the latter, a second pipe also entering said bowl through the bottom thereof, and terminating above the top of the drain pipe, a hingedly mounted cap for said drain pipe, and a combined cap lifter and agitator extending through said second pipe, said agitator and cap lifter being capable of movement longitudinally of said second pipe to lift said cap and being capable of rotary movement to dislodge solid and semi-solid matter accumulated in said bowl.

3. In a drain trap of the class described, a bowl, a drain pipe entering said bowl through the bottom thereof,` a hingedly mounted cap for said drain pipe, a second pipe also entering said bowl through the bottom thereof and terminating above the top of said drain pipe," a rod extending through said second pipe and normally constituting a support for said cap, said rod comprising an agitator arm disposed in said bowl, said rod being capable of longitudinal movement to lift said cap and being capable of rotary movement to displace solid and semisolid matter accumulated in said bowl.

4c. In a drain trap, a bowl, a drain pipe extending to the bottom of said tbowl and terminating a substantial distance above said bottom, a cap for said drain pipe, said cap comprising a top wall and a downwardly flaring side wall, and hinge members for mounting said cap for movement relatively to the drain pipe around an axis located above said cap.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 3l day of July, 1923.

WILLIAM R. GILLIES. Witnesses DAGMAR PETERSON, EMiLn J. BOURGEOIS. 

